…an eclectic mix of travel photos with a birding theme, home and away.

Historic Churches of Norfolk – route 9

Taking advantage of the recent unseasonably warm weather, spent the weekend catching up on a few more historic churches. On Saturday brother Bryan – veteran of the memorable ‘Four Countries End to End’ ride in 2012 and I did a nice circular route, starting and finishing at Morston. We cycled just over 60 km and took in 22 parish churches plus a host of other ‘religious establishments’ which cluster around the Walsinghams.

The lovely interior with a feast of 15th century pews – complete with tracery, poppy heads and carved figures

and some interesting stained glass

All Saints, Wighton – the tower collapsed in a winter storm in 1965 and was rebuilt with the help of a Canadian benefactor

Another light, bright interior with an unusual high-level east window

Detail of a Victorian stained glass window – one in a series depicting various saints

The two parish churches of Warham – All Saints and St Mary Magdalene, just half a mile apart

More exquisite medieval glass

The priory church of St Mary, Binham

All Saints, Cockthorpe – unfortunately undergoing major repairs and covered, in parts, with scaffolding

Last church of a long but fascinating day in the company of some fine historic architecture – oh and my brother of course!

St John the Baptist, Stiffkey

Details of the rood screen

Last word, on our final church, must go to Simon Knott whose commentary on Stiffkey contains the following:

‘Stiffkey is most famous, of course, for Harold Davidson, the Rector of Stiffkey from 1906 to 1932, who was defrocked by the Bishop of Norwich on account of the rather glamorous low-life company he kept. Nicknamed ‘Little Jimmy’ as he was only five feet tall, he became a national celebrity. He moved on from wandering in ‘a confused state’ around the back streets of Soho, and exhibited himself in a barrel in Blackpool, before an ill-judged career move into lion-taming resulted in him having his head bitten off. In Skegness, of all places’.